Peter Barnes | Romans 15:19b-21
SERMON NOTES
PAUL’S AMBITIONS AS AN APOSTOLIC MISSIONARY
(Romans 15:19b-21)
Paul’s stays at Ephesus (Acts 20:31) and Corinth (Acts 18:11) were exceptional. He usually pressed on.
1. Paul sought to extend Christ’s kingdom.
– 15:19b; from Jerusalem (Acts 9:28) to Illyricum (around modern Albania, north of Macedonia)
– Illyricum is not mentioned in Acts, but Acts does not tell everything (e.g. see 2 Cor.11:22-28)
2. Paul avoided empire-building.
– 15:20; it was the false apostles who tried to usurp someone else’s turf (2 Cor.10:12-16)
– David Livingstone in Africa and James Hudson Taylor in China both wanted to go beyond the other missionaries.
– we are to think in kingdom terms, not our little empire
3. Both Testaments teach that without Christ, there is no salvation.
– 15:21; citings Isa.52:15; all have sinned, all are in need of salvation (Isa.53:6)
– sincerity is not enough (Rom.10:2); hence Rom.10:13-17